Liquid crystal display devices are devices for controlling transmission/shielding of light (on/off switching of display) by controlling the alignment of liquid crystal molecules having birefringence. The liquid crystal alignment modes of liquid crystal display devices include:    Twisted Nematic (TN) mode, in which the alignment of liquid crystal molecules having positive anisotropy of dielectric constant is twisted by 90° when viewed from the normal direction of a substrate;    Vertical Alignment (VA) mode, in which liquid crystal molecules having negative anisotropy of dielectric constant are aligned perpendicularly to a substrate surface; and,    In-Plane Switching (IPS) mode and Fringe Field Switching (FFS) mode, in which liquid crystal molecules having positive or negative anisotropy of dielectric constant are aligned horizontally to a substrate surface, and then a transverse electric field is applied to a liquid crystal layer.
As a driving mode of liquid crystal display devices, active matrix-type driving mode, in which an active element such as a Thin Film Transistor (TFT) is arranged in each pixel for achieving high image quality, has been popular. In an array substrate equipped with a plurality of TFTs and pixel electrodes, a plurality of scanning signal lines and a plurality of data signal lines are arranged such that they intersect with each other, and the TFTs are provided for each of these intersections. The TFTs are each connected to the pixel electrodes. The switching function of the TFTs controls the supply of image signals to the pixel electrodes. The array substrate or a counter substrate is further provided with common electrodes. A voltage is applied to the inside of the liquid crystal layer via a pair of electrodes.
However, liquid crystal display devices in the IPS mode or the FFS mode, which control the alignment of liquid crystal molecules by applying a transverse electric field, have such a specific disadvantage that display defects likely occur when high electric potential due to, for example, exterior static electricity is applied, unlike the case of liquid crystal display devices in the VA mode, in which electrodes are provided on the counter substrate.
Thus, to shield the influence of exterior static electricity, conventional liquid crystal display devices utilizing a transverse electric field have been designed, for example, to have a transparent electroconductive layer which is provided on the outer surface of the counter substrate, and is grounded (earthed) (For example, see Patent literature 1).